Close on Omniscience
by Red Snowsled
Summary: Sirius Black has just broken up with a forgettable girl, and the Marauders can't guess why. So what happens when an anonymous note states the truth? Chapter 11 up. SBOC. RR, thanks.
1. Finding the Note

Disclaimer: If you don't know it by now, stop reading this, and smack yourself on the forehead.  
  
Close on Omniscience - Chapter 1  
  
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The bell rang. Black-robed students stopped idly chatting, and took out quills and parchment. There were two long tables, headed by Professor McGonnagal. Fifth years James, Remus, Peter, and Lily all sat down at one table. The silence wafted above the scratching of quills and russeling of papers in the small room. On the other table, someone coughed. The Professor gave a glancing sweep of the room from her desk. Once satisfied, she turned to her own work.  
  
Sirius Black's entrance was unintentionally loud. He burst in at full speed, panting deeply. He took long strides to sit beside James, and thunking hard onto the wooden bench. The whole class was staring at his flushed face. It was sweaty and his hair stuck to it. McGonnagal sent a dagger glare.  
  
"Two minutes late, Mr. Black, so it will be two minutes after," she said with an air of superiority; however, she could take no points away because it was study hall. Students eventually turned back to their quiet activities. His friends were eying him with prodding looks, but McGonnagal was watching carefully and he could say nothing. She eventually turned away.  
  
"I broke up with Alice," he whispered, but still half the table heard him. It was that quiet. Alice was a Hufflepuff-kind of sweet, very friendly, and pretty in a forgettable way. James rolled his eyes, Remus had a "surprise, surprise" look on his face and Peter seemed amused. Lily was the only one looking concerned.  
  
"Why?" she whispered back.  
  
"Place your bets," James rasped with a smile.  
  
".got annoying."  
  
".wasn't funny."  
  
".didn't shower." Sirius denied it all. They were whispering quite loudly now, and half the classroom was watching and listening.  
  
"Mr. Black, what is so important that you deem it worth disturbing everyone?" The hawk-eyed professor gave them a pinched glance.  
  
"Nothing, ma'am," Sirius said in a voice that could have charmed a snake. But not McGonnagal.  
  
"Five minutes after, Mister Black." The rest of the hour the quintet were silent, working on homework, staring into space, or, in Sirius' case, drawing illicit pictures on spare parchment.  
  
The bell rang. The students filed out of the classroom. They cast wary glances at Sirius, who looked away and sat back in his chair.  
  
"Eww, Sirius," quipped Lily, and stuck out her tongue at the naked woman Sirius had sketched. He blew a kiss at her with relish, making the others laugh as they disappeared down the corridor. He rocked back in forth to pass the empty time.  
  
"You may go now, Mr. Black," Professor McGonnagal said without looking up. Sirius got up and walked to the door. He saw the picture he had drawn on the floor. He certainly did not want the Professor to find it. He stooped down to pick it up, then suddenly remembering he had pocketed the drawing earlier. This piece of scrap was something else.  
  
He held it up to read it.  
  
You made her laugh. But you're more than a comedian, was what the paper read.  
  
He began to throw it away, thinking it was a boring personal note. But he stopped when he realized it pertained to him.  
  
He began to jog to the next class, thinking about the note. He was a local celebrity for his pranks around the school and his hilarious jokes. Alice had been in his "fan club". That's what he called it; James just called them "stalkers". Since they went out, he had cracked her up, but it wasn't long before he realized all she had wanted was entertainment. When he had confronted her about this, she had stated she "didn't want a serious relationship", laughed about how 'serious' rimed with 'Sirius'.  
  
The bell rang again, and Sirius had three hallways and a flight of stairs to go. Who had written the note? It had to have been someone in study hall. It wasn't any of his friends-they all had messy writing, and James wrote in extra tiny writing just to spite the old, spectacle-wearing teachers. Lily wrote in girly, flowery big letters with circles instead of dots for 'i's'. The handwriting was impersonal and near perfect, except for the curve on the tail of the "g".  
  
He rounded the final corner, the last long hallway to go. He called it "the Green Mile" amongst his friends. The note-maker had to have been an onlooker, joining silently in the guessing game. Maybe it was a note passed between some people. No-it was addressed to Sirius in the second person.  
  
He reached the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom. He turned the knob and pushed, and sat down in his seat next to Peter.  
  
"Mr. Black, how kind of you to join us," Professor Gordan, a sharp, tiny man with a Satanic goatee said with cruel enjoyment. "Five points from Gryffindor and five minutes after the bell."  
  
"Aye, aye, Skipper," Sirius said, too tired from his run to say something wittier.  
  
"Make it six." Sirius shot eye-daggers at Gordan, who started the tardy round-robin all over again. He sat wearily back in his seat. At least he was in great shape from all the running he did. Professor Satan gave instructions and began to read out of the book, but Sirius gave no notice.  
  
He decided that whoever had written the note had meant for him to find it. Maybe one of Alice's friends? It could have been Professor McGonnagal, but Sirius shivered at the thought of his teacher butting into his lovelife. He wanted to find the true author, but he had no idea where to start. 


	2. Full Moon

Close On Omniscience ---- Chapter 2  
  
A year later, sixteen-year-old Sirius Black found himself sitting in a double Divination Class with the Ravenclaws. On James' advice he had signed up for the class, based on the claim that it was easy. Well, as luck would have it, the old bat teaching it last year retired, and a new teacher had taken up post.  
  
"Pair up, please," Professor O'Kinton said in her soft voice. She was not a stern woman, but a special silence was maintained in her classroom. Even troublemakers were suppressed by it. Sirius and James reflexively moved toward each other, not even thinking of it.  
  
"I think not," O'Kinton smiled a strange little half-smile toward the dream team. "It is obvious that you do not get out to meet other people. It is important to extend a hand to strangers. Mr. Black, please pair with Miss.?" She motioned to a sullen, bored looking Ravenclaw girl.  
  
"Megatroid." She glared up at the teacher. Issues, leave this one alone, was Sirius' first impression. But the teacher did not skip a beat.  
  
"Miss Megatroid," O'Kinton chimed sweetly and smiled that odd half-smile. Sirius gently took his seat next to the girl, as if he was trying to safely sit on an armed landmine. He grabbed the teacup for something to play with.  
  
"Today we will be examining tea leaves. To do this, drink the tea and swill the remaining leaves, and interpret what you see in the cup. Turn to page twenty-seven for an index of symbols and their meanings. There is not much instruction I can give you-but enjoy the tea."  
  
"Do you want to go first, or." But the Ravenclaw had already drunk the tea and was shaking the cup.  
  
"What, you're not done?" She asked with an annoying spark in her eye. Sirius was ticked.  
  
"Sorry if I don't train for the Tea Chugging Marathon or whatever-"  
  
"You're wasting time. Drink your tea." She began to draw symbols on the parchment, leaving Sirius practically fuming. He grabbed the tea cup, but then accidentally dropped it. He expected her to make a witty comment, but she said nothing. She went to get some paper towels.  
  
"Five minutes after class, Mr. Black," Prof. O'Kinton said nonchalantly. "For abuse of school equipment." "Here," the Ravenclaw girl gave Sirius a new cup of tea, her face suddenly softer and not so bitter.  
  
"Er.thanks. You didn't have to do that."  
  
"You'll be late to Transfiguration. It's the least I can do."  
  
"How do you know I have Trans next?"  
  
"It's Divination class now, isn't it, Mr. Black? Many things are seen and known here that oughtn't be," she said with a big whiff of mystery, that enticed a little bit of Sirius.  
  
"Yeah. Like, I oughtn't be able to see McGonnagal's living quarters from out that window, and I know now that she wears support bras?" The Ravenclaw snickered quietly, but waved the joke away.  
  
"I mean to See, with the Third Eye. To gaze into the orb, or the leaves, and See things to be or things from afar?" "What-are you saying you can actually see things? That this class is more than a semester's worth of crap to you?" She shrugged, finishing the symbols.  
  
"Do you want to know your future?"  
  
"Sure. Why not?" She grabbed the piece of parchment.  
  
"You have a combination of the Pyramid and the Acorn," she said in an official voice. "This means for you to eat heartily today, for your will be deprived tomorrow. Then you have a rare trinity of the Grazing Cow, the Linen Cloth, and the Grand Arch.this means your heart and mind are far from here. They dwell on forbidden things, for they dwell in the Forest."  
  
"Great wizards, you know that from just a couple of symbols?" he asked breathlessly. The deprivation tomorrow meant nothing, but about him thinking of the Forest was dead on-he had a "date" with the Marauders there tonight. "It says nothing about 'combinations' on the page."  
  
"Look in the appendix, J-3." There it was, a table of intermediate tealeaf reading symbols, with more descript interpretations.  
  
"Can I see the paper you wrote the symbols on?"  
  
"Sure." She handed over the off-white parchment. He examined the symbols, and the notes underneath.  
Acorn- Fertility, bounty, good harvest. Pyramid - desert, famine  
  
Analysis: Odd combination-they contrast one another. One believes that they follow each other in sequence.  
  
Grazing Cow - vegetation, life thriving Shepherd's Crook (this she had scratched off) Linen Cloth - the psyche, the heart, in which with one is concerned, except when in combination with Ear of Corn, but this does not apply Grand Arch -distance, a bridge crossing an expanse  
  
Analysis: Vegetation could mean Herbology Greenhouses, but one doubts this. Vegetation most likely means Forbidden Forest. The bridge means he is not thinking about Divination, for he has crossed it to the Forest. He is concerned with things there, hence the Linen Cloth.  
Sirius was astounded. The bell rang.  
  
"See ya later," the Ravenclaw smiled a tiny smile and waved. Sirius smiled softly back, contemplating the notes. They were incredibly advanced, even for a sixth-year. Then again, she was a Ravenclaw. They were well known for intellectual superiority. Maybe he just couldn't comprehend it in his small, prank-conceiving Gryffindor brain.  
  
He studied the note carefully. The writing was easily readable, not like his fast scribbles. A strange chord of déja vú struck him. Out of his robe's pocket, he took a faded, oily note of matching off-white parchment similar to the one that the Tea leaf symbols were drawn on.  
  
You made her laugh. But you're more than a comedian.  
  
The day he had received this note he had aced a test in Potions, his worst subject. After that he had won a trip to the caretaker's office, which normally meant nothing, but today the "Confiscated" drawer had been open. He had quickly rifled through the contents, and had found an incredible little toy, which he fondly named Cupid's Quiver. We'll get to that later. But he was convinced that all this good fortune owed up to the lucky note. So he made a habit to carry it with him. He hadn't seriously read it for a whole year.  
  
The writing matched. The perfect Denelian, with the curly tails. He had found the author.  
  
But who was the author? All he knew her by was 'Miss Megatroid' which wouldn't get him anywhere. And what would he do once he found her? He needed a second opinion.  
  
"Prongs?" he whispered to his best friend that night in the dorm room. Remus was in the bath and Peter seemed to be stuck trying to get his pajamas on. Sirius was getting ready for bed. He grabbed three muffins he had stolen from the kitchens, and devoured them one by one.  
  
"Why are you eating like you've never seen food before?" James gave him his signature wiser-than-thou look as he read in bed. Sirius had no idea why James bothered; reading bored him to tears. Since his mouth was full, he just gave him an annoyed look.  
  
"Stay up, will you?" he said once he was done chewing. "There's something I want to talk about, but not with Moony and brilliant Wormtail over there." He motioned toward Peter, who fell over from bad balance trying to get his jammy bottoms on.  
  
"All right," he said seriously. The other two fell asleep close on nine o'clock, Peter like a log and Remus a little later. They still spoke in whispers-Remus was a light sleeper.  
  
"What's wrong?" James asked, just a little bit on moonlight from the window reflecting on his glasses.  
  
"Do you remember Alice?"  
  
"Alice." James pondered. "Oh yeah, last year." Under normal conditions, Sirius would have said the same thing.  
  
"Well, remember you guys were guessing why I dumped her?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Study Hall? Fourth hour, right after lunch?"  
  
"Oh.yeah. Sort of."  
  
"That day, I found a note on the ground."  
  
"Well, what did it say?" Sirius went over to the bureau and pulled the note out of the pocket of his robes. He unfolded it, letting the moonlight act as an ersatz nightlight. The two sentences shone in the standard black ink.  
  
"So?" James shrugged after reading them.  
  
"That's the reason I broke up with Alice. Right there, on paper."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Isn't that weird, though? That they'd write it and drop it on the floor, knowing I find it?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Well, here's more for you. Do remember Divination today?"  
  
"Ha, yes. You and Miss Megatroid, what a pair."  
  
"She wrote it." He waited for it to sink in. James rubbed his eyes, skillfully not bumping his glasses.  
  
"She told you that?"  
  
"No. I compared that handwriting," he took out the tealeaf symbols paper and flashed it at James. "It's the same."  
  
"Lemme see." It was indeed the same writing.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"I don't know," Sirius sighed. He rubbed his face. It was not often he was cornered with no plan. It did not help that the room was several hues of blue from the moonlight. It was making him dizzy. The air was cold, creating a sort of skin-shell, but not quite goosebumps. "Why didn't she just give it to me?"  
  
"Maybe she was embarrassed," James mused wisely. "She might have just lost it, never planning on giving it to you."  
  
"Yeah. You're right. I mean-what are the odds, anyway? Picking a scrap off the floor? I'm not Filch, great wizards."  
  
"See? It's totally logical. Who knows how many stalkers your have? She might be one of them." It seemed to be a perfectly good conclusion, on one level. Then.what about the Divination thing? If she was able to See how wrapped up he was in the Forbidden Forest, could she see other things? It made his head hurt to think of the things at stake.  
  
Knock, knock. It was Madame Pomfrey's soft rap on the door. James and Sirius immediately fell onto their beds, lying still with closed eyes. She slipped in unceremoniously, gliding over to Remus' bedside. Sirius couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could tell she was trying to rouse him.  
  
"Come, the hour draws near." The nurse's warning was heard throughout the chamber. Remus was on his feet, not taking his coat. He gave one shifty smile back at the other boys before he disappeared out the door, the door closing loudly.  
  
James and Sirius got up and nodded to one another. James went to fetch the Invisibility Cloak while Sirius was flicking Peter on the forehead, trying to wake him up.  
  
"Wormtail, you prat. Get up. It's time to go."  
  
"Right..right." He winced, climbing out of his sleep to sit on the bed.  
  
"Ready, Pete?" James called from the bathroom. If anyone was to actually look for the Cloak, it was their guess that no one would look in the bathroom closet.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Prongs, let's go. Wormtail, do you need help walking?" Sirius asked business-like.  
  
"No, I'm good. Let's do it." The trio shifted out of the room, slinking down the steps. James nodded; the common room was dark and empty, only firefly sized glowing embers remained in the untended fire. They dashed soundlessly across the stone floor in the purple-tinted room; a combination of the blue moonlight and the red décor. They pushed the portrait gently open, so as not to awake the Fat Lady, filed out, and closed the portrait. She was undisturbed, and snoring fitfully. They flashed one another smiles and began to hug the wall to stay in the shadows, inching down the hall.  
  
"Get under, get under," James hissed, ushering the two boys inside the Invisibility Cloak. They moved as one, an invisible mass walking carefully down the Main Stair. When they had reached the fourth floor, they stuffed the Cloak behind a suit of armor under the large Hogwarts coat of arms.  
  
"Ready?" Sirius breathed, although they had done this a dozen times before.  
  
"Let's do it," Peter repeated, panting slightly. They began a brisk jog, speeding down the Green Mile. They fell forward, down and hit the ground running, transforming into their Animagus forms: the stag, the dog and the rat. They filed into a fast-moving line, passing door by door. At the end of the Green Mile there was a mirror, standing a foot above the ground and about two feet wide.  
  
Prongs was first. He leapt with all of the agility of a deer, hurdling into the mirror. He disappeared, and the midnight dog went second, then the near-unnoticeable rat. They mirror rippled slightly where they had entered, then stilled, leaving no trace of their crossing.  
  
The three landed paws and hooves first onto the grounds near the Whomping Willow. The Forbidden Forest lay to their west and the well-worn path to Hogsmeade to the east. The odd group of animals stood in the pale moonlight, their reflection on the black lake.  
  
Wormtail sped along, low to the ground, scurrying up a bulking root and through deep ingrained wooden grooves to a knothole. He gently tapped it with his meek paw, but that was all it needed. The tree's irritable thrashing and snapping branches froze in place, even stiller than a normal tree. Wormtail ran back and wicked fast climbed up on Padfoot's back, clinging there in the thick black fur.  
  
The stag and the deer proceeded into the hole low in the trunk, barely wide enough for Prongs. An earthy, pitch-black tunnel led down farther and farther. Then, it inclined upward again. It was actually a little it warm. The dirt was humid and moist.  
  
The tunnel spat them out into a small hut that was boarded up from the inside. Cracks between the boards on the window lit slivers of moonlight snake in, revealing the wrecked furniture and gnarled mattress on the bed frame. A lone whimpering could be heard.  
  
The three animals soon became four as the crying wolf's sullen attitude was suddenly joyful. He bounced into step between Prongs and Padfoot. The group started back down the tunnel, and into the adventurous night. 


	3. Flying Class Intro

Close on Omniscience - Chapter 3  
  
It was a whole week before the sixth-year Gryffindors had double-anything with the Ravenclaws. And when it came, it came in Flying Class. Unfortunately for Sirius, he was not good with the broom. Lucky for him, they were practicing throwing the Quaffle into the hoop while standing on the ground. The weather was lovely in the autumn: a cool, refreshing breeze sweeping the green countryside and coloring the leaves on the trees of the Forbidden Forest as if with a master's paints. The castle stood in its aged awe-inspiring large mass of a fortress.  
  
"Remember, follow through," Madame Hooch instructed sharply on the Quidditch practice greens. Ten ground-level hoops had been set up for the lesson. "If you miss, retrieve the ball and shoot again. If you make it, your partner will retrieve the ball, and it is their turn to shoot. When they make their basket, begin to shoot at a distance five feet back than before. Choose partners and please record scores."  
  
"I'm going be partners with that girl," he pointed to the select Ravenclaw. James nodded, not pausing to think about pairing up with Remus. Sirius walked quickly so she was not taken before he got there, but nobody made advances to her but Sirius.  
  
"Want to be partners?" he asked politely. She looked skeptical but nodded. He collected a Quaffle and gave it to her.  
  
"Ladies first," he insisted. She smiled a bit. Taking careful aim, she threw it, missing it by three feet. She jogged quickly to go get it, and shot again. This time, she threw it and went four feet wide, at least.  
  
"Zero, zero," Sirius said with a small smile. She ran again, grabbed the wayward Quaffle. She stepped back again to aim, and missing it again. She repeated the process several times, while Sirius put on a show yawning at her obvious talent deficiency.  
  
"Still zero," Sirius said with a grin as wide as Christmas as she went to retrieve it for the sixth time.  
  
"You're-really-enjoying-this-aren't you?" she remarked, puffing out the words in winded pants, then taking a wild shot, which of course did not go near the hoop.  
  
"Darn it, you made me lose count," Sirius snickered. She huffed incessantly, her chest heaving up and down, gasping for breath. She focused, under-handed throwing it like a softball pitcher. The ball reluctantly went in and she gasped with relief. She switched over to Sirius' position near the hoop, but he wasn't moving to go out and get the Quaffle.  
  
"Wait," he said slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dog you." The girl shrugged.  
  
"S'all right. I'm used to it," she said with a half-smile.  
  
"What I really want to ask is.what's your name?"  
  
"What? You didn't believe Megatroid was my real name?"  
  
"No," Sirius pushed cautiously. "It's not, is it?"  
  
"Of course not. My name is Sara."  
  
"Sara what?"  
  
"Sara Cairns. Of Fairgold."  
  
"Fairgold? Is that a city?"  
  
"A town. Kind of cozy. It's an old folks village, mostly. All Muggle. Except for me. And an old Celtic lady who calls herself a witch." Sara smiled as if remembering a sweet memory.  
  
"I'm Sirius Black," he said with a champion's grin.  
  
"I knew that."  
  
"Let's stop the chatter, ladies," Madame Hooch called to them from a ways away. Anyone who knew him had to admit he sort of looked like a girl from behind. He blushed red and Sara giggled like a first-year, sweeping away a stray lock of black hair.  
  
Sirius had never actually studied anyone except his closest friends. Sara had lovely black hair. She had a tiny figure, and she was a stick straight up and down-not the type Sirius ever went for. Though she had fair, fair skin she blushed quite easily. He looked in her gray eyes and he could have sworn he saw a tiny sparkle there, one that wasn't there before.  
  
"Your turn," she said, pointing toward the abandoned Quaffle. He went to get it. He stood on the throwing line, wound up a throw, and the ball sailed far into the air above the hoop.  
  
"Zero," Sara Cairns called out, sitting down in the thick green grass to watch the show. 


	4. Ravenclaw Dorm

Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 4  
  
Sara smiled to herself as she entered her sixth-year Ravenclaw dormitory. It had been a great day, but she didn't know why. She threw her book bag down on her bed and did a bit of stretching. She unloaded a nightgown out of her one bureau drawer. It was a relief for it to get one article of clothing out for it, so many items had been stuffed in it.  
  
She changed quickly and brushed her teeth. Sara hopped into the pretty blue spread quilt on her bed, shuffling to get under it. At her private nightstand, she pulled out a glass paperweight. She did not own a crystal orb, but Sara was flexible when it came to scrying. She pretended to look busy with it while three other girls were laughing, coming in through the door. They regarded her with a decided superiority.  
  
"Oh look, Seeing Sara," one of them remarked. It was a girl called Beryl who had spoken, and in Sara's opinion, she was in no position to be making fun of names. She concentrated harder into the paperweight. Beryl was quite large, and the foot condition of gout was the famous link to her family.  
  
They all tossed a couple of coins at her. She counted them all up: three Sickles. She nodded for them to come over to her bed, where they all sat without any unease, waiting for a response.  
  
This had been her routine since first year. It had been very clear to the old Divination teacher she was gifted in her area of subject matter, even though Sara didn't even take the class. The instructor had given her a free tutoring lesson in Seeing, but Sara mostly had taught herself.  
  
The girls in her dorm had made fun of her from the day she had stepped into the dormitory. She was a half-blood, and though the Ravenclaws took pride in their intelligence, they turned a blind eye where Muggle-borns were concerned. And they were even more hostile to half-bloods. Her father had belonged one of the prominent families called Cairns. He had been the only descendant to escape Slytherin and had taken up residence in Gryffindor. The Cairns had been, of course, disappointed. By graduation at the end of seventh year, he had ran off to elope with a Muggle and had not been heard of or seen again, until little Sara Cairns had found her way under the Sorting Hat. She had watched the odd moment of about three hundred eyebrows raised in interest. Yes, yes, look at her black hair, people whispered. She's one of them. I saw her mother before they disappeared; she had the same nose. Etc., etc., etc.  
  
She had found a way to discourage the teasing.  
  
"You laugh now," First-year Sara said, hugging her pillow, fighting back tears, speaking to Brigetta, one of the girls. Brigetta was forcefully pretty, with tons of make-up and tissues stuffed in her bra, and starved herself constantly to be thin. She was the unspoken leader of the three girls. "Tomorrow you'll burn yourself in Potions on the burner. I know - the welt is going to cover your knuckle and drape across the back of your hand." Brigetta had laughed, calling her a fool. But the next day, she came back to the dorm from the hospital wing with a bandage on her hand, glaring at Sara, but leaving her alone.  
  
If Brigetta had left her alone, maybe some "foreshadowing" for Beryl, and the other girl, a forgetful, clumsy one called Lotus. It had worked. They had left her alone when she had told them of their future accidents, right after they had occurred. But it didn't last for long. They began to beg her for readings, and teased her worse than ever if she refused.  
  
So she had worked out a system: she charged a Sickle for a daily reading and a galleon for an in-depth long-range reading. They all had come from rich families, except for Lotus, who worked during the summer to afford readings during the year. Missing mistakes and trouble was a number one priority for them.  
  
Nearly every evening they paid for a session of the next day's troubles. Of course, one does not have accidents every day, so Sara had to make some things up-like "avoid this place" or "don't eat that". But she was able to forecast all of their mishaps and they followed her instructions to the letter. She had made so much money during the year, she reopened the Cairns vault at Gringotts, being the last known living descendant. There were many piles of Galleons and Sickles and Knuts, plus many foreign wizards' coins from her ancestor's travels all over the world. She had wanted to open a shop of some kind, but she wasn't sure what.  
  
She had lived with her grandmother (on her Muggle mother's side) in Fairgold for as long as she could remember. She had no idea where her parents were, if they were dead or alive. Her grandmother refused to tell her. Her grandmother was her sole source of joy and true instruction. Her grandmother had written a handbook just for her about "life's little lessons". She took it with her every year to Hogwarts just to keep her sane.  
  
"Lotus," Sara began. "Tomorrow, in Care of Magical Creatures, do not approach the Fwooper. It will not like you. Brigetta, volunteer for broom maintenance after Quidditch practice." Brigetta was a Beater on the Ravenclaw team.  
  
"Beryl, that boy you fancy," Sara murmured mysteriously. I see he is quite handsome. Tall, blond, green-eyed, Hufflepuff. If you want to see him tomorrow, make sure you miss lunch to find him in the library. If you want to catch his interest, pretend to be fascinated with dragons." She bowed her head slightly to show she was finished.  
  
"Blond? Hufflepuff?" Brigetta cried out in horror. It was well known she loved drama. "It can't be Simon, can it? Beryl, he's MY crush! How could you?" The girls started a fierce, catty argument, drawing attention away from Sara. She had anticipated the fight, leaving her alone, but it would be awhile before a prefect came up to shush them. There was no doubt in her mind that they would be carrying on until then.  
  
She turned over and drew the blue curtains that surrounded the edge of the bed, bidding the girls good night. She blew out the candle, and still heard their agitated voices echoing through the stone room. 


	5. Common Room Conversing

Close on Omniscience** Chapter 5  
  
"Hogsmeade trip this weekend," James announced to the common room as he came in from dinner. There was a small bout of cheering and sighs of relief from everyone. He walked into a small circle of overstuffed chairs with a chessboard in the middle. Remus and Lily were playing on the board. Sirius was standing just outside the circle with his elbow sticking out, trying to teach Peter how to whip your arm forward to catch a Knut that was sitting on your elbow.  
  
"Thank goodness," Lily breathed. "I'm dying of cabin fever."  
  
"You know, I only meant OFFICIAL trip to Hogsmeade. There are, um, unofficial trips too," James said quietly.  
  
"Forget it. I know what trouble you boys get in. I want no part of it."  
  
"Lily, lily," he cooed, picking her up and sitting himself in her chair, then lowering her back down onto his lap. "It's perfectly safe."  
  
"Check," Remus murmured, musing over the game board. Lily hadn't been watching.  
  
"Damn," she cursed, studying the board for a new angle.  
  
"So ladylike," James chirped like an annoying bird. After twenty tries, Peter had finally caught the Knut. He sat down. Being there no more chairs, Sirius started impersonating Lily and sat down on Peter's lap. Lily, being the only girl, was often the butt of their jokes.  
  
"When's the next dance?" Lily asked cuddling up to James.  
  
"Er, I think," he looked past Lily for help from his friends. Remus quickly scrawled "Halloween Dance" on a scrap of parchment and held it up for James to see. ".On the thirtieth of October, my darling."  
  
"Thirty-first," the whole group amended.  
  
"Right. All Hallows Eve," James insisted. "So go to Hogsmeade and buy a pretty dress robe or whatever you need."  
  
"Yes, thank you, Scruffhead, I need all the hot tips from you," Lily cajoled and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Who are you taking?" James asked Remus.  
  
"Dunno. Don't think I'll go," Remus replied in a noncommittal way. Sirius gave an exaggerated gasp.  
  
"We'll have to set you up with someone then! So much to do!"  
  
"Hey, Hotshot, who are you taking?" Lily quipped.  
  
"In such a name-calling mood, aren't we?" Sirius asked rhetorically, trying to avoid the question.  
  
"You could take the Ravenclaw girl," Peter suggested. "She seemed pretty fond of you in Flying today."  
  
"Did she?" Sirius asked, genuinely interested.  
  
"Yeah. Ask her. She could go with Lily to get dress robes and stuff. That's a girl bonding thing, isn't it?" James encouraged shamelessly.  
  
"I might," Sirius said shortly.  
  
"By the way, how's the bite?" Lily said, grabbing Sirius' hand and holding it up to the light. He had been bitten by a nasty little spider that had, apparently, nested in a beaker full of basic Poison Potion II, a concoction that turned anything you ate into an inedible acid. The spider had bitten Sirius while he had been "borrowing" supplies from the Potion Master's office that morning before breakfast. There was a peeling bandage with yellow medicine leaking through.  
  
"My, my," Madame Pomfrey had festered in an irritating nurse voice, but didn't persist to ask questions. "I only have one treatment for this, and it takes about twenty-four hours to work. It's rather unlucky you had to be nipped before you had the chance to eat anything." Madame Pomfrey had taken the precaution to ban him from the Great Hall that day. However, Sirius had stuffed himself silly with food the previous day. So he wasn't hungry, much.  
  
"I'll give you this Knut if you go get me something to eat. Heck, give me a minute, and I'll give my entire seven birthdays and Christmas' worth of dough."  
  
"Now, now," Lily chortled in another annoying nurse voice, then adjusted her bra when she thought he wasn't looking. He imitated her, pretending to snap a bra back and forth, making Lily blush an awful color that clashed with her red hair. "You're mean. Just terrible. And you, really, really, don't have the equipment." 


	6. Breakfast

Close on Omniscience***Chapter 6  
  
"Isn't that her?" Lily asked, pointing toward the Ravenclaw table with her spoon. Breakfast that morning was rather routine: porridge, fruit, cereal, and a spot of yogurt and milk á la carte. James, Sirius, Peter, Remus, and Lily sat together at the long Gryffindor table. "What's her name, anyway?"  
  
"Sara," Sirius said, breathing it out. "Sara Cairns."  
  
"Sara Cairns? She's supposed to be, like, the last descendant of one of those big wizard families. She's not even pureblood, she's half."  
  
"How do you know all that?" Sirius asked. "I, personally, would be slightly frightened if someone could know my entire family history."  
  
"Sirius Black, son of Ignatius Black, celebrated local photographer of magical wildlife for "Magical Monsters Monthly", and Perenelle Black, researcher and proprietor of the Snidget Sanctuary in Sussex. The couple is currently divorced. Ignatius is the son of the town drunk in New Hampton-" James rattled off.  
  
"Sod off," sniffed Sirius, lightly punching James in the arm. "You're barking mad."  
  
"And absolutely correct, my dear Padfoot," James said with a signature grandeur. Lily stared at them, trying to read their faces.  
  
"Why do you call him that?" she asked for near on the hundredth time. "I'm quite sure he doesn't get weekly bunion scrapes. And you call yourself Prongs, but you're not a fork, or at least I think you're not-"  
  
"Lily, darling, some things must remain in the brotherhood," James said stroking her hair in a teasing way.  
  
"What brotherhood?" she laughed. "You're just four friends running around causing trouble."  
  
"Best friends," Remus amended.  
  
"Why can't I be a part of the brotherhood? I don't have any girlfriends to associate with, not such as the likes of you," Lily fussed. Sirius and James gave her identical pained looks, as if they were parents explaining why their four-year-old needed to eat their vegetables.  
  
"You're too perfect. You have a good record and it would be awful to have us stain or scratch it, with our idiotic childish pranks and what not," James said carefully. Sirius shot him an impressed glance; they had not thought of this excuse before. Lily seemed to accept it.  
  
"Are you going to ask her to the dance?" She reverted back to the old topic. Sirius glanced sideways.  
  
"I don't know," he said plainly. It was not often he said this, or at least outside of the classroom. When it came to the strange Ravenclaw, he didn't have many answers.  
  
"That reminds me," James said lightly, pulling a small, white flower out of the lapel of his school robe. "Lily, darling, would you grace me with your presence as my partner at the Dance of All Hallows Eve?" She took the flower gingerly, twisting the stem gingerly in between her fingers.  
  
"Hm, we do have a pickle, don't we," she sighed mockingly, twirling the flower. "I want to know what the nickname Prongs means, but James wants to know if I will go to the school dance."  
  
"I have big ears," James said awkwardly. "We think they look like the antlers of a stag."  
  
"Well, a lie for a lie," Lily said, getting red with anger in the face. "Yes, I will go with you to the dance, James." Then she departed, getting off the bench and setting off early for Charms class.  
  
"Ohhhhh," Remus laughed.  
  
"Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrn," Sirius screeched. James swatted them both.  
  
"Well, there's still a week," Peter said. "You can still convince her. At least you're farther than Padfoot."  
  
"Farther than you. You haven't even got a girl on your radar screen," Sirius said quickly to his defense.  
  
"And that Sara girl is on yours?" Remus challenged.  
  
"No. Well, I mean, um." Sirius stammered.  
  
"She's on the list," Remus amended. Remus was great that way; he never wanted to actually embarrass or humiliate anyone. A laugh was only good if all were laughing, as he far as he was concerned.  
  
"Yeah. I guess so." They left it at that, finishing the morning meal and heading off to Charms lessons. 


	7. The Bachelor's Pad

Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 7  
  
The dance came and went. It was originally scheduled to be outside, but it rained and everyone was crammed, smelly and wet inside the Great Hall. James hadn't reconciled with Lily in time to go to the dance. She had taken the liberty of barricading their the door from their dormitory that led to the common room, so they were unable to visit Hogsmeade that particular weekend. They eventually got out by blowing off the door by wedging Dung Bombs in the cracks and lighting them. By the time they had cleaned up all the debris, everyone was already back from the village and they had gotten detention, to boot.  
  
Sirius never got up the nerve to ask the dark-haired Ravenclaw to the dance. They spent Halloween in a secret annex they had found behind a bookshelf in the quiet study room of Gryffindor Tower (the study room itself was annexed to the common room). He dubbed it 'The Bachelor's Pad'. It was a good hiding place. After all, they still took great pleasure in terrorizing the school. If the police knew of a criminal's stronghold, it was no good. So they proceeded to make their own 6th year boy's dormitory into the decoy-a basic map of the school on the wall, a few Dung Bombs hidden conspicuously under the bed, a couple of failed prank plans on parchment stuffed into a bureau.  
  
However, the true Bachelor's Pad had the elegantly detailed Marauder's Map laid out on the planning table and several well-designed future pranking plots complete with x's, o's, and dotted lines on the drawing board. On the opposite side of the bookcase there was, of course, a place to store more books. It was jam-packed with documents on wild charms, intoxicating potions, and other things the quartet deemed exciting. There was an entire file cabinet on where they filed their prank reports. The planning table was nearly unmanageable with all the parchment that had been used for brainstorming. They had also moved several cots in there if they had to lie low for a night or two. It was the inner depths of their crime wave and the beating heart of their method.  
  
The Halloween rain was the basic definition of the Marauder's mood that day. They sat on the overstuffed chairs, mulling over the brainstorms with little result. They said few words to each other. James was absentmindedly drawing a picture of Lily. It was a Marauder's secret that he was a top-notch artist. It was he who had drawn the Map and laid out sketches of desired results in pranks. The picture he was drawing had her smiling and looking thoughtful, twisting a small flower between her thumb and forefinger. It was so real Sirius felt he could reach out and touch her hair swishing in the breeze. When James was done, he used Spellotape to put it up on the wall with other drawings. Some were of Lily and others were of the four. Some were of animals, a recurring consistency of rats and dogs. Sirius smiled and remembered once, when they had attended an art fair at Hogsmeade (illegally, of course), a collector had remarked at not only his irrefutable talent but also the will power of the specimen.  
  
"I declare, this is fine," the collector mused over James' display of animal pictures. "Especially for someone so young. I know plenty of gems in the rough, but you, son, are a diamond. How defined the fur! How exquisite the detail!"  
  
"Thank you," James mumbled breathlessly, with the other three close by his side, beaming.  
  
"But I must ask," the collector said coyly. "The quality of the art of some would be much greater if those dang animals would stay still. I tell you, I saw a lass painting a Top Kennel Crup. You know, those beasts that look like dogs? How well it was trained in comparison to others. But even a dog's got to move once in awhile. How do you get your model to stay so still?" James had grinned at Sirius.  
  
"I have my ways," he said cryptically. The art collector raised an eyebrow but moved on. One of Sirius' favorite things to do was recall their many adventures in the village, or any time they spent together. It gave him a good feeling thinking of his friends.  
  
Peter had transformed into a rat. He had made himself a maze with a bit of pound cake at the end. He ran it, and even though he designed it, he was still confused. Sirius moved the pound cake over to the section where perplexed little rat was swiveling his head around, as if the choices of moving forward were advancing enemies. Wormtail glared up at him, but accepted the gift. He ran back to the start, and proceeded to take a rat nap.  
  
"So when's the next d-" James began.  
  
"Please shut up," Sirius said.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Remus said. He scratched his head candidly. "If you took action, you wouldn't have to be moping and feeling sorry for yourselves. James, go up and out with Lily-"  
  
"What? Up and out?" James squinted. Remus blushed.  
  
"It's something my brother says," he said quietly, like it was a secret. "You know, make up and make out. He's way too into girls."  
  
"I see," Sirius said thoughtfully.  
  
"And Sirius, I really don't know what to say. You've never hesitated to ask a girl out before." This all brought on stares from the four. He leaned back and looked away.  
  
"I don't know. I just," he mumbled and took a breath, "want to be careful."  
  
"She's just a girl," Peter put in, back in human form. "They're all pretty much alike. Harmless, usually."  
  
"Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Sirius countered.  
  
"Huh?" Peter winced.  
  
"Look, she's just-" he paused and rubbed his temple. "-Not someone you'd want to rush with."  
  
"You've spoken to her, what, twice?" Remus inquired.  
  
"So? I can tell. She's not the type I usually go for. Excuse me, I've got homework to do." He got up. It was unusual that he'd be so sensitive about discussing girls. It was usually his pleasure to kiss and tell. Something put him on edge. But he wasn't ready to give up on the enigmatic Ravenclaw. He knew in his gut that it was far from over.  
  
I want to take a second to thank my reviewers:  
  
Thepaxilfairy- thanks. BTW thank you for pointing that out. I might go back and redo it.  
  
Unseenstag- I thought that was kind of cute. Thanks!  
  
Mad-eye Potter- Really? Wow. Thanks.  
  
Padfootprankster13- takes bow thank you! 


	8. Dorm and Duel

Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 8  
  
Sara Cairns spent Halloween like she always did: dueling the precocious fifth-year Vera Riggles of Slytherin. Vera wasn't half as bad as some of her dorm mates. She was just defensive. They weren't exactly friends because Sara wasn't keen on being seen with a Slytherin and Vera felt likewise. But occasionally they got together to duel, namely on Halloween. They were dueling in the rain on Ravenclaw Terrace (Vera had come in by special invitation). Several students and teachers not attending the dance were watching the intense action.  
  
"Aeranette!" Sara called out, sending a swirling column of green wind falling down upon Vera. Several observing teachers mused and whispered to one another.  
  
Vera slashed her wand above her head, leaving a red 'x' lingering in the air. The wind column broke upon the x, and both faded away. Since Vera had chosen a defense move, it was Sara's turn to attack again.  
  
"Avinata!" Sara cried out again. She thrust her wand into the air, a violet eagle spouting out of the tip and trailing purple glitter. It dove toward Vera from the stormy clouds. Vera countered by drawing an orange symbol that looked more or less like a hook with a circle. The eagle connected with the orange trap symbol and began wrestling it. The hook pierced a wing and the circle twisted around its neck, making it impossible for the eagle to move without strangling itself. The eagle faded away with the trap. Since Vera played defense, she was forced into offense with Sara on the defense. This sort of switch was an opportunity to use hidden symbol spells for later use.  
  
Sara traced a silver symbol that looked like an acorn and a gold symbol that looked like an eye. The two symbols lingered in the air a moment before disappearing. Vera herself drew one silver symbol quickly as well.  
  
"Equinus!" she chanted, a blue stallion galloping out of the tip of her wand, galloping the length of the terrace toward Sara. Silver was trailing in his mane.  
  
"Dex!" Sara's wand slashed the air like a lightning bolt. A red medieval shield appeared with a silver acorn glimmering as the coat of arms. The horse disintegrated on contact with the shield, and the silver dust wrestled with the silver acorn before disappearing.  
  
"Opticus!" Sara whispered. The gold eye shimmered into view and flew high above their heads. It gave Sara a glimpse of Vera's next attack. Only Sara could see Vera's final move: a black symbol, the cloaked demon. There were very few spells that could block it.  
  
"Noiren!" Vera's voice traveled to the other side. She could see black smoke seeping out of Vera's wand. The demon, not looking much different than the grim reaper, slowly moved toward Sara, letting suspense build. She waited until it was halfway there.  
  
"Expecto Patronum!" Sara yelled out. A gigantic white dog, almost too large for its half of the Terrace, began chasing the demon away, and fading when it reached Vera. Vera stumbled and fell. The rain had soaked her through and through. Sara had won. The onlookers politely clapped. Everyone moved toward the Ravenclaw common room and out of the rain.  
  
"Nice," Vera commented to her later, drying her short, choppy hair with an old towel. "I'll have to remember the Patronus Charm."  
  
"You did well too," Sara said. She always looked people in the eye when she spoke to them. It intimidated some people, but not Vera.  
  
Sara's gray eyes burned with victory. She climbed the old stone steps to the 6th year girl's dormitory. Brigetta sat at the shared vanity brushing her hair. She had spent hours conditioning it before the dance, but now, because of the rain, it was tangled and snarled. Black mascara had dried in streaks down Lotus' face. Beryl was lying miserably in her bed.  
  
"Oh, look, it's the prophet now," Brigetta snarled. "Could it hurt just to tell us about the rain?"  
  
"I did," Sara remarked shortly.  
  
"Oh, excuse me," Brigetta stood up menacingly, "but I thought it might matter that it would ruin my evening. My boyfriend broke up with me." Brigetta rubbed her temples exaggeratedly. Skinny little Lotus came forward and rubbed her shoulders.  
  
"And that's the weather's fault?" Sara asked, plopping uncaringly on her bed.  
  
"You ungrateful beast!" Brigetta screeched. She stood and shrugged Lotus off. "I ought to report you straight to Professor Dumbledore, for stealing Sickles! My family worked hard for those, you know!" Inwardly, Sara rolled her eyes. She supposed someone in Brigetta's long line of pureblooded ancestry had worked for the money. Maybe two hundred years ago. But the rest was probably sitting in Gringotts rotting and gaining compound interest.  
  
"A load of good that'll do you," Sara said calmly. She had walked down this path a couple of times before. "I'm sure it will sit well with your family that you've been using your money to employ an amateur psychic." Brigetta glared but backed off. She sat huffily down on her bed, Lotus hurrying over to her with a hairbrush. It was actually quite entertaining sharing a dormitory with a drama queen. "Anyway, the lot they care that you got a bit wet during a stupid dance."  
  
"At least I was asked to that dance. You, however, could be bottled and sold as boy repellant," Brigetta said with her nose in the air. Despite her silly dig, she had gotten a claw in. Sara had an odd aura that seemed to push away boys. She was shorter than all of the girls in her dorm, even Lotus. Though her last name usually provoked a reaction, a quick look told everybody to label her as anyone else. She was in her sixth year and had never been kissed, except once at a silly 'spin-the-bottle' game back in her hometown. And that didn't count, did it?  
  
Sara kept her mouth shut. There was no further reason to provoke Brigetta. If she got the last word in, she would be less unbearable in the morning, or ever.  
  
Sara lied down on her back and closed her eyes. She heard the other girls settle down for the night. She was still in her school robes, but they would do. They candles had already been blown out.  
  
Her thoughts drifted to Sirius Black. What a character, that one. He was wrapped up in his own little world, though. So what if she made some predictions? She was still just another player in his game. He seemed a bit superficial for her taste.  
  
Sara mentally bonked herself on the head. Who was she to say she had a 'taste'? She had no friends, never had a boyfriend, and her only family relation was a grandmother in an old folk's home. She was lucky if someone even noticed her, let alone talk to her.  
  
Oh, great, I'm giving myself an inferiority complex, she thought. No more thinking tonight. She rolled over, still in her school robes, and closed her eyes. The rain outside the window stopped. 


	9. Author's Ultimatum

This is just a quick Author's Note-  
  
I know some of you out there really like this (Noa and Mad-eye, you're too nice) and I was just wondering how many of you like this and want it to continue. If you like this, please review! I'm taking a break to work on a new L/J in honor of the Order of the Phoenix.  
  
If you aren't reviewing and are enjoying the story, please review! I love reviews. Reviews are like the fuel that keeps a fan fiction going.  
  
Thank you so much to my reviewers, you don't know how much it means to me that you like my story.  
  
SAVE/KILL THIS FANFICTION! Tell me you would like to see it live on to its potential or watch it die in development hell. Owls and e-mails to BookNut34@aol.com will find me.  
  
Much Oblige!  
-Red Snowsled 


	10. Letters and Oaths

Thank you to my reviewers! Summer is coming to an end (tear) but who really wants to spend the rest of their days watching daytime television and getting bitten by mosquitoes on a camping trip? Anyway, hope you all had a great summer. I'm going to continue doing this until everyone hates it and no one reads it. Please review!  
  
Close on Omniscience ** Chapter 9  
  
Dearest Grandmother,  
  
I'm sorry if I haven't written in awhile, and it would be a lie to say I've been busy. In fact, laziness is the subject to which I am addressing. I realize now I am not living the life I want to. I have fewer friends than fingers on my hand. When were you and my grandfather married (rest his old soul)? I have no suitors or men on my tail, as I would have you think. I want to get out and know people. I am already seventeen. I am wasting away my prime, as you would say. Oh, your memory is fond to think of. I am missing you sorely. Learning lots, studying hard.  
  
Lovingly yours,  
Sara  
  
Sara reread the short script. She groaned at her own pathetic writing ability and her even more pathetic situation that had hit her hard in the stomach the next morning. Her grandmother had always said 'to sleep on it' if she had a problem. This was worse than last night.  
  
She won't live forever, Sara thought, the thought as bitter as onions and just as tearful. It was true. She purposefully blocked out the prophecy of her grandmother's death, but she was sure it was soon. A tear fell gently onto the parchment. She picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink.  
  
-  
  
P.S. Sorry for the smudge. I spilled a drop from my water glass.  
  
-  
  
Sara quickly folded the letter and tied it with a string before she could cry any harder. She set it on the table and watched it, as if it would disintegrate before her eyes. Then she grabbed for another piece of parchment and reloaded her quill with ink, gently tapping the feather against her lips.  
  
She didn't want to be alone at school anymore. She wanted boys to see her as they saw Brigetta. Well, sort of. Not exactly the same. Suddenly, she wanted to be a stunning Cinderella. A boy-vacuuming vixen. An underlying beauty.  
  
The thoughts filled her head, and she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. It was almost like it had been blocked, like a floodgate. She whirled around like a ballerina, nearly knocking over the vanity. Thank goodness the other girls had gone already.  
  
In the next three days, she checked out all of the romance novels in the school library (there were exactly three) to find out what it was all about. The first, "Killing Me Softly With His Spell", was a dull pro- pureblood book about a pureblood girl from the country going to the city and falling for a Muggle-born wizard. The Muggle-born was a player and used her. Hurt, she went back to the country and fell in love with a ready- made husband from another pureblood family. The other two were equally bland and told her nothing.  
  
She nearly gave Brigetta a heart attack as well.  
  
"What is romance?" Sara asked her plainly while she was using some sort of magic dream on her face. The cucumber slices in her eyes popped out.  
  
"What?" Brigetta asked back, searching Sara's face for a joke or trick.  
  
"I mean, since you had a boyfriend and all, what is romance?"  
  
"I'm not sure I want to tell you," Brigetta said slowly, backing off.  
  
"Please?" Sara said asked as sincerely as she could.  
  
"Er, all right," Brigetta replied with caution. "Romance is, I suppose, the feelings between man and woman. Not like friendly feelings. Like, hot and heavy loving."  
  
"Uh huh," Sara nodded.  
  
"Like, real attraction," Brigetta poured out. She stood up and placed her hands on her heart for emphasis. "True love forever and ever. Romance is him holding your hand, singing you love songs, buying you nice things. Doing anything you say, dancing with you, telling you he loves you."  
  
"What about kissing and stuff?" Sara asked. Half of "Killing Me Softly" was the girl and wizard kissing passionately and the author describing every detail.  
  
"Oh, he has to hold you just right," Brigetta sighed, using her own hand to cradle her gooey cream-masked face. "And you have to connect, you see."  
  
"Yes, thank you," Sara said, getting up to think about this.  
  
"Wait," Brigetta said, grabbing her arm. "I haven't told you about gazing under the stars, long walks by the lake-"  
  
"That's all right," Sara said, carefully removing Brigetta's clamping hand from her arm. Brigetta sulked but got the hint and replaced the cucumber slices that had fallen.  
  
Sara sat down at the desk and took out a piece of parchment, wet the quill and set to work on a new document.  
  
I, Sara Grace Cairns, do take the following oath upon the grave of my grandfather:  
  
I will have at least one (1) boyfriend by the time I leave Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I will be considerate to the girls in my dorm. I will be more outgoing and make new friends. I will discontinue my practice of being a hermit. I will live, to the best of my ability, according to the morals my grandmother taught me.  
  
(signed) Sara Grace Cairns  
  
She folded the parchment and walked over to her bed. She lied upon it, stuffing the parchment in her pillowcase. She could feel the parchment of similar oaths she had taken in years passed ("I will attend at least one (1) Quidditch match" and the like) stuffed in the pillowcase as well. Most of them had been kept, a fine feather in her cap, at least in Sara's opinion.  
  
It was not quite time for bed yet. She stalked in the bathroom to take a bath. Now that she had taken the oath, it was time to play the field. And there was only one person on it that she could think of. The next day, it was time to start romancing her old crush Sirius Black. 


	11. Medical Emergency in Herbology

Close on Omniscience*** Chapter 11  
  
"Get into groups of two, please," Professor Sprout clapped her hands sharply. "Quickly." James nodded to Sirius. James moved toward Lily. Remus and Peter went together. Sirius walked over to a wandering Ravenclaw.  
  
"Want to be my-" they said at the same time. Sara laughed.  
  
"Sure," she said. They both stood side by side at a table with various species of herbs and leaves in small sugar bowl-sized dishes. The light streamed through the greenhouse roof, illuminating the many colors of the plants.  
  
"Déjà vu, huh?" Sirius asked.  
  
"You're telling me," Sara replied.  
  
"Silence, please," Professor Sprout quipped. "Today we will be having a lesson in herbal medicine and emergency first aid. Now," she paused to hold up two dishes, one with reddish orange leaves, and the other with dark green leaves. "The leaves of the Trettling plant will induce a sort of diluted hysteria. Once ingested, they will simulate the effects of potentially poisonous plants, such as Vermong, Alihosty, and Welsh Whisker. Now, these simulated effects are harmless and will cause no lasting damage, but will put you out for a bit.  
  
"However, the task of the partner is to revive you. You will have a variety of herbs to choose from. Have the ailed patient eat the leaves you provide. Now, there is only one plant that will cure your partner. Choose wisely and use your text book if you need help."  
  
"Do you want to be the doctor or the patient?" Sara asked with a small smile that was constantly dancing on her face.  
  
"Oh, the doctor, I suppose. Eat these." He gave her the dish with the Trettling leaves. She took them and ate them without any trouble.  
  
"Oh, goodness," she murmured, lowering herself to the floor, and laying there. Sirius looked around. Other students were on the floor. He saw Lily hovering over James. So it was OK, presumably. He grabbed the herbs on the table. There were yellow ones, blue ones with yellow spots, yellow ones with green spots, and green ones with yellow stripes. How confusing.  
  
"Well, here," he said noncommittally. He shoved the green-yellow stripes one in her mouth. She swallowed them, and moaned. The room was filled with other moans.  
  
"Okay, let's try this one," he said, grabbed the blue-yellow spots leaves. Then she started coughing. Then he saw her wink, and he grinned back.  
  
"Oh, that's not good," he said rather loudly. He dragged her on her feet, grasping her around the stomach. Several students looked their way with questioning looks.  
  
"Mr. Black, what are you doing?" Professor Sprout came over, concerned. "I think she's choking, ma'am," Sirius said as solemnly as he could. "I have to perform the Heimlich maneuver." He began squeezing her around the stomach, and she began to make gagging sounds, and then went limp in his arms.  
  
"Now, Mr. Black, really," Sprout coaxed, trying to get Sara out of his arms. But Sirius pulled her away, laying Sara on the ground again. She spread out her limbs in mock weakness and terror.  
  
"Professor, she's going into shock. I have to give her CPR right away," Sirius said quickly. He knelt by Sara's head. He pushed gently three times somewhere near her shoulder. Then he bent over, lingering above her face, and gave her mouth-to-mouth, except it felt more like a kiss. He gave her heart three more pushes, then kissed her again. Many students were crowding around to watch the show. The other Marauders were laughing.  
  
"Mr. Black, stop this madness!" Professor Sprout shrieked. Sirius quickly kissed Sara again before she could laugh. He got up and pulled her to her feet.  
  
"Ma'am, she's had an awful reaction to the Trettling," Sirius pleaded. "I must induce vomiting." He shoved his hand into her mouth. She bit him gently. He extracted his hand, and she laughed, leaning on him for support. The Marauders hooted, and the class giggled, but they were more confused than anything. Professor Sprout was just confused.  
  
"Detention, Mr. Black. That goes for you as well, Miss Cairns," she said, condescendingly. Then Sara began choking again, this time for real. Everyone was quiet. Then,  
  
Bluhhhhh.  
  
She threw up all over the Venomous Tentacula. The class joined up in an 'ewwwww!' Professor Sprout patted her on the back.  
  
"Mr. Black, please escort Miss Cairns to the Hospital Wing," Sprout said reluctantly. "No detours, now."  
  
*  
  
Sara held her stomach as she ascended the stairs to the Hospital Wing. Sirius had his arm around her, supporting her.  
  
"Are you all right, there?" He asked.  
  
"Yes, I think so," she coughed.  
  
"I hope I didn't give you too much of a beating," he said.  
  
"Nah." They stayed silent for awhile as they walked through the great maze of hallways toward the infirmary.  
  
"So, um, who's your team?" Sirius asked, trying to make conversation.  
  
"Team for what?"  
  
"Quidditch, of course!" exclaimed Sirius.  
  
"I don't follow Quidditch."  
  
"Ohhhh," Sirius said. He was quiet for a bit. In his opinion, there wasn't much to say after finding out Quidditch isn't a standard in both parties.  
  
"What are you planning to do after Hogwarts?" Sara asked.  
  
"I don't know. I suppose," he stopped to think. "I really don't know. What about you?"  
  
"Be a professional psychic," Sara said without skipping a beat. "I could have my own hotline, you know, for both wizards and Muggles alike."  
  
"Well, that would work for you, I guess," Sirius said. "Is that what you want to do?"  
  
"Of course it is," Sara replied, but she thought about it. Did she really want to suck the Sickles out of people to read their fortunes? She was used to it. But she remembered the oath, the part about discontinuing her practice of being a hermit.  
  
"Actually," she corrected herself, in a last ditch attempt to hold his interest. "I might write romance novels." Sirius laughed. He had a wonderful laugh, it sounded like a bark.  
  
"Romance novels? You jest."  
  
"Do you know how many romance novels there are in this school? There are three, and they're all terrible. I think the whole genre could use a huge push."  
  
"I have a little sister, a first year. She's a romantic. She'd love that."  
  
"Does she go to Hogwarts? I don't ever remember hearing of another Black."  
  
"She studies under private tutors in Venice," Sirius explained. He realized from the puzzled expression that he'd have to go into full detail. "It's pretty complicated. I've only just understood it myself. My father is this photographer-"  
  
"Ignatius Black," Sara chimed. "He took this cute picture of a Puffskein and a ball of yarn. It's hanging on my wall at home."  
  
"Right," Sirius said slowly. Again, he was creeped out by the family history thing. "He divorced my mum, and recently eloped with this rich Italian sorceress. I got the letter last week. I think he'd been planning this for awhile, that's why Ella never enrolled at Hogwarts."  
  
"I see," Sara said knowingly.  
  
"What about you? I've heard you have an interesting family story."  
  
"I guess. It's not as complicated though. Basically, I've got this ancient pureblood family on my dad's side and a Muggle family on my mum's. Never knew either of them. No sisters, no brothers. I have a grandmother, though."  
  
"Here we are," Sirius said. He pushed open the door. "Helloooooo, nurse! A patient for you." He called to the nurse slicing herbs.  
  
"As insolent as ever," the nurse muttered as she came over to help Sara onto a bed. "What's the matter with you?"  
  
"I threw up. I ate a funny plant in Herbology as part of a project."  
  
"I see. Black, make yourself useful. Clean her up a bit while I prepare a remedy. That Sprout woman, I swear, poisons her own students," Pomfrey muttered and walked off into her office. Sirius fetched a basin and a towel.  
  
"It's all right, you don't have to clean me," Sara said, reaching for the towel. She had vomit crust on her lips and some spillage on her robes.  
  
"No problem. My pleasure," Sirius said, putting the towel just out of her reach as he put water into the basin. He drenched it, and then wrung it out.  
  
"I feel like a toddler," Sara confessed as Sirius wiped her mouth clean.  
  
"Don't think on it." He set on getting the stain out of her robe. She sat in her vest and pants as he scrubbed it out. It went pretty quickly.  
  
"I know what you could do," Sara said as she slipped back into the black robe.  
  
"What?"  
  
"For after Hogwarts."  
  
"Oh. What could I do?"  
  
"Professional launderer. Own your own laundromat."  
  
"That would be cool."  
  
"Here we are, dear," Madame Pomfrey bustled in with a tray. On the tray were one drop of green liquid and a chunk of chocolate. "Drink that bit there." She touched her tongue to the drop of liquid, and doing her best to swallow it, then pocketed the chocolate. "Now you must take a nap in order for the medicine to take effect. Pick a bed. I will notify your professors of your absence."  
  
"Wait. Can Sirius stay too?" Sara stretched out her gray puppy eyes as big as she could. Madame Pomfrey pinched her face into a tight wad around her nose. "I would rest easier knowing he's here."  
  
"Very well," she said primly. She retreated to her office. Sara wondered what she did all day when there were no patients to care for. Did she read? Study medicine? Cure rampant disease? Right now she seemed keen on washing old bed sheets.  
  
"Wow, thanks," Sirius said. He sat down on the bed and tucked her in. "Can I sing you a lullaby?"  
  
"Sing away," she smiled, looking up at him.  
  
"Well, er, any requests?" She looked thoughtful for a second.  
  
"How about Braham's lullaby?"  
  
"But that doesn't have any words."  
  
"It's prettiest hummed." She sang in a low voice for him.  
  
"Mmmmhmm, hmm, mmm," he hummed it, and then switched to whistling. He lost the tune and faded into 'All the Pretty Little Horses', then 'London's Burning'. She was already fast asleep. To amuse himself, he practiced turning into a dog and back. He passed the hour lying on the bed snuggled up with her until Madame Pomfrey barged in.  
  
"Shoo! Shoo!" she cried, waking Sara. "I will not tolerate animals in my infirmary! Where is Sirius Black?" Sara woke, blurrily glimpsing a big black dog running out of the hospital wing, and then Sirius strolling in.  
  
"Was that your dog that just ran by? I can go catch him if you like," he said with an innocent face, but the cocky grin gave him away.  
  
"No, it certainly was not!" Madame Pomfrey snapped. "This place is most literally going to the dogs!" Sara rubbed her eyes and sat up.  
  
"Hey, you're awake," he said, rubbing her back gently. "Feeling better?"  
  
"Much. Thank you," she said. "Did you abandon me there?"  
  
"Nah. Just had to pee." She smiled at his crudeness.  
  
"I think I am better."  
  
"Now, now," Madame Pomfrey twitched, flying to her side. "Would you like the day off or return to classes?"  
  
"I think I will go back to class," she said carefully, hopping off the bed. The nurse nodded, returning to her office.  
  
"You would rather go to class than have the whole day to do anything you want?" Sirius said incredulously.  
  
"Well, do whatever I wanted in my dormitory. If I were to have the day off, I would be in bed with no one to talk to. All I could do was sleep, which would keep me up half the night. It's easier just to go to business as usual."  
  
"Okay," Sirius said uncertainly. "I'll see you later, then."  
  
"Yeah, take care," she called back, not really knowing what else to say.  
  
******  
  
Oh, the end. Thanks again to my reviewers, you're all angels, really. 


End file.
